You look exhausted,” she told him. “It was a tough day at work. I had to stay late because of a rare case,” he explained before devouring the food on the table.
Being the meticulous woman that she was, Evelyn wasn’t convinced by her husband’s answer. She sensed something was wrong but decided not to act upon it first. However, the next day, during breakfast, Evelyn noticed her husband’s phone light up with a message that read “Will you be coming over today?” When Robert saw her gazing at the phone, he immediately flipped his phone facing down.
Evelyn’s gut feeling was telling her that her husband was cheating on her. However, she chose not to argue with him since she wasn’t ready to face the truth should she confirm he was indeed seeing somebody else. Instead, that evening, she waited for Robert to leave the hospital where he worked.
At 6:00 PM, he left on time, as he did every day. He got into his car and drove off while Evelyn hailed a taxi to follow him. A couple of minutes later, his car stopped in front of a motel.
At this point, Evelyn’s heart was racing, and she was shaking uncontrollably. She got out of the cab and hid near the entrance. Her husband walked inside the motel where a woman came out and greeted him.
They went into a room together, and Evelyn was inconsolable. She couldn’t believe her eyes, and she wanted so badly to hit something. An hour later, Robert came out, and a furious Evelyn came rushing toward him.
“You cheater!” she yelled. “How could you do this to me? How?!” she asked, slamming her hands on his chest.
“Evelyn, calm down,” Robert told his wife, trying to restrain her. “Let me explain.”
Robert took Evelyn’s hand and walked her inside the motel. He opened the door to the room he was in and she was surprised by what she saw.
Evelyn saw a man lying on the bed, his legs incapacitated. Robert explained that the man was his former teacher who was living on the streets after being fired from his school two decades ago. “I saw him on the street while walking home one day,” Robert recalled.
“He was helplessly sitting on a dirty sidewalk, with one hand on his leg. When I asked him what happened, he told me he couldn’t walk because of his leg injury.”
“I immediately decided to treat him for free since he couldn’t pay for the surgery,” Robert explained. “I come here several times a week, but no one knows about it.
I wanted to keep it a secret because our hospital does not allow pro bono work.”
“I’m sorry I made you doubt my faithfulness to you, Evelyn,” he apologized. “I love you, and I would never cheat on you.”
Evelyn was in tears, overwhelmed with emotion. He realized her husband was not what she expected him to be – he was so much more.
What can we learn from this story? Don’t be quick to jump to conclusions. It was easy for Evelyn to assume that her husband was cheating on her after a series of events, but in the end, she was surprised to find out that her husband was doing something noble and admirable.
Do good things, even when nobody sees you. Robert was a well-respected doctor who’d often be paid a lot to treat people. However, he decided to secretly treat a debilitated veteran for free, as he knew this was the right thing to do.
Share this story with your loved ones. It might inspire them and make their day.
